European bank chief urges action on rescue fund | Reuters

European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi told euro zone governments on Friday to act fast to get their rescue fund up and running, expressing exasperation at their lack of progress in responding to the escalating debt crisis.

The ECB is under intense pressure to play a greater role in tackling the euro zone crisis. A Reuters poll of 50 bond strategists in Europe and the United States gave an even probability that it would eventually agree to print money.

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany rebuffed demands from Prime Minister David Cameron for decisive action, making clear she favoured a step-by-step approach that has seen Germany resist calls for the ECB to backstop other governments.

“The British demand that we use a large amount of firepower to win back credibility for the euro zone is right,” Merkel said. “But we have to take care that we don’t pretend to have powers we don’t have. Because the markets will figure out very quickly that this won’t work.”

A Reuters poll of 50 bond strategists in Europe and the United States however gave an even probability that the ECB would eventually agree to print money.

Draghi put the onus firmly on governments, saying they had failed to put into practice decisions underpinning the European Financial Stability Facility — the rescue fund which they have promised to give more firepower without yet explaining how.

“Where is the implementation of these long-standing decisions?” Draghi said at a banking conference in Frankfurt. “We should not be waiting any longer.”